Most mouse acceleration (more properly known as “Enhanced Pointer Precision”) changes the mouse’s sensitivity based on how quickly you move it. This can be useful for some people, but I’ve found that it causes the cursor to move erratically, particularly for professional gamers, designers, and anyone else who needs pinpoint mouse control. Turning off mouse acceleration on Windows 11 is a relatively easy process, and in this guide, we show you how you can do it to get a more consistent and less predictable mouse experience.

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Why Disable Mouse Acceleration?

Mouse acceleration will cause your cursor to move further based on how fast you move the mouse, which might seem intuitive in casual use but can cause issues in certain cases:

• Gaming: Heavy mouse acceleration can throw your aim off in reactionary games such as first-person shooter games, as it causes the amount your cursor moves with your hand to differ, instead of a 1:1 movement.
• Graphic Design: When you need pixel-by-pixel precision, it’s imperative that your mouse movement is consistent.
• All-purpose: Some people just prefer a linear response for their mouse no matter what they are doing.

By unticking mouse acceleration, you prevent the cursor from being accelerated as it travels a set distance for a mouse movement, irrespective of the speed at which the mouse was moving.

Step-by-Step Guide to Disable Mouse Acceleration:

Here is how to disable mouse acceleration in Windows 11. Just go to Settings > Devices > Mouse > Additional Mouse Options. And click on the “Pointer Options” and Uncheck the box that says “Enhance Pointer Precision”.

Step 1: Launch the Settings App:

• Press the Windows key on your keyboard or click the Start button (the Windows icon at the bottom-left corner of your screen).
• Click on the Start menu and choose the settings option. Or tap the Windows+I keys to directly launch the Settings app.

Step 2: Go to Mouse Settings:

• On the Settings page, select Bluetooth & devices on the left sidebar.
• In the right pane, scroll down and click on Mouse under Related settings.

Step 3: Click on Additional Mouse Options:

• On the Mouse settings page, swipe to the bottom and select Additional mouse options in the “Related settings” section. This will bring up the Mouse Properties window, the old-style control panel interface.

Step 4: Turn Enhance Pointer Precision Off.

• On the Mouse Properties window, navigate to the Pointer Options tab.
• Scroll down to the Motion section and of check the box next to Enhance pointer precision.
• Uncheck to disable the mouse acceleration.
• Click Apply and then OK to accept your changes and close the window.

Step 5: Test Your Mouse:

• Want to give it a try ? Here’s how the cursor reacts when you move your mouse. You should observe a smoother/more linear motion, in which the amount you move your mouse and the amount the cursor moves on the screen becomes directly proportional, regardless of speed.
• If you’re a gamer or creator, fire up your game or design software to make sure the mouse behaves as it should.

Optional: Adjust Mouse Sensitivity:

Turning off mouse acceleration could cause your mouse cursor to feel a little different, which means you’ll have to get used to adjusting mouse sensitivity (DPI or pointer speed) the way you like it:

• In the same Mouse Properties window, in the Pointer Options tab, overwrite the slider under Select a pointer speed to make the pointer more or less sensitive.
• Experiment with the settings to see what feels comfortable.
• Click Apply and OK to close out any changes.

Or if your mouse supports adjustable DPI (many gaming mice do), you can increase or decrease the DPI using the mouse manufacturer’s software or the hardware buttons on your mouse.

Common Problems and Solutions:

If you face problems after you disable mouse acceleration, here are a few suggestions:

• Cursor Feels Slow or Fast: Make sure the pointer speed is under control by using the Mouse Properties in the Control Panel, and adjusting the pointer speed appropriately, or if you have a “gaming mouse”, changing the DPI setting should do the trick.
• Settings Not Saving: If you don’t have Admin rights, then: 1. If you must, right-click the Settings app and click Run as administrator.
• Mouse Moves Out of Control: Make sure your mouse drivers are updated. You now go to Device Manager (right-click the Start button and select it), look for your mouse under Mice and other pointing devices, right-click, and select Update driver.

Benefits of Disabling Mouse Acceleration:

Once you turn off mouse acceleration, you’re probably going to realize:

• More Precise: With better predictability of your cursor movement, such as Aiming of the Game and drawing of Design, there will be better accuracy.
• Consistency Throughout Your Programs: The distance covered by the cursor for the same mouse movement will be the same in all programs on your computer, which will reduce the time you spend adapting to different acceleration factors between programs.
• Better Muscle Memory: Consistent mouse usage for gamers results in muscle memory which leads to improved performance.

Conclusion:

If you’re a gamer or use a mouse for design or daily computing tasks, here’s a quick and easy tweak to make in Windows 11 that can help increase your accuracy and consistency: disable mouse acceleration. By using the method described in this guide, using the Mouse Properties to access and turn off Enhance Pointer Precision. You can also adjust the sensitivity if you’d like—you can tailor your mouse settings to better fit your needs. If you run into trouble, troubleshooting measures like updating drivers or tweaking settings can smooth the way to a successful game. Test out your new settings for a moment and start to appreciate some increased control over your cursor!